PAUL LAWRIE NORTH-EAST SCHOOLS HIGHLIGHT ON MONDAY

PAUL LAWRIE FOUNDATION SCHOOLS’ TEAM CHALLENGE ON MONDAY

Players should register in the Peterculter GC Clubhouse (from 10.30 am) before going to stated tee at 11.40 am.  Shotgun begins at Noon.

GIRLS - RED TEES                  BOYS - WHITE TEES

HOLE              

     1     Daniel Astridge                                     Turriff Academy

            Nicole Yeats                                         Torry Academy

            Jack Reid                                             Speyside High School

           

     2     Jamie Beedie                                        Montrose Academy

            Shannon McWilliam                              Aboyne Academy

            Finlay McPherson                                 Robert Gordon’s College

                       

     3     Jasmine Mackintosh                             Hazlehead Academy

Grant Pirie                                            Ellon Academy

            James Flett                                         The Gordon Schools

           

     4     Stephen Roger                                      Ellon Academy

            Gavin Elrick                                          Alford Academy                                   

            Liam Stephen                                        Peterhead Academy

      5    Jake Stewart                                        Meldrum Academy

            Kiran Nolan                                           Alford Academy

            Dylan Smith                                          Robert Gordon’s College

           

     5M Ryan McKinnon                                    Cults Academy

            Josh Bruce                                           Peterhead Academy                             

            Calum Morrison                                                Inverurie Academy

     6     Tyler Ogston                                        Torry Academy

            Clark Henderson                                   Westhill Academy

            Jack Brown                                          Turriff Academy

     7     Matthew Royce                                     Meldrum Academy

Mayon Patel                                         Albyn School

            Ferghus Milne                                       Banchory Academy

    7M   Michael Lawrie                                      Robert Gordon’s College

            Adam Fisher                                         Cults Academy

            Ray Gordon                                          Alford Academy

           

     8     Anthony Harkin                                     Aberdeen Grammar School                  

            Findlay Harcus                                     Montrose Academy

            Craig Leith                                            Hazlehead Academy

     9     Kyle Duthie                                           Dyce Academy

            Jed Mutch                                            Mintlaw Academy

            James Flaherty                                     Banchory Academy

 

 

    10    Cameron McArthur                                Inverurie Academy                               

            Ellis Roberts                                         Peterhead Academy

            Aidan Forbes                                        The Gordons Schools                          

    11    Liam Allan                                            Mintlaw Academy

            Fintan McKenna                                    Albyn School

            Findlay Soutar                                      Montrose Academy      

    12    Jonathan Bell                                        Aberdeen Grammar School

Kieran Moran                                        Ellon Academy

Sam Yule                                              Aboyne Academy

    13    Liam Milne                                            Banchory Academy

Ross Brady                                          Torry Academy

            Tom Andrew                                         Aboyne Academy

    14    Glen Morrison                                       Harlaw Academy

            Alistair Kinghorn                                   Albyn School

            Dylan Singer                                         Westhill Academy

    15    Fraser Middleton                                   Westhill Academy

            Lachlan Robertson                                Speyside High School

            Calum Parley                                        Dyce Academy

    16    Connor Brown                                       Hazlehead Academy

            Jack Ironside                                        Turriff Academy

            Ben Green                                            Inverurie Academy

    17    Ross McKendrick                                 Aberdeen Grammar School

            Ewan Malcolm                                      Speyside High School

            Findlay Donald                                      Dyce Academy

           

    17M  Ben Henderson                                     Cults Academy

            Greg Morrison                                      Harlaw Academy

            Cameron Fraser                                    Meldrum Academy

           

    18    Bruce Thain                                         Mintlaw Academy                                 

            Ruaridh Macvinish                                Harlaw Academy

            Adam McGowan                                   The Gordons Schools

M = Middle of Fairway (Tee-off before hooter at noon to be in position)

LATE BIRDIES BY PAUL LAWRIE AT GLENEAGLES

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Austrian Bernd Wiesberger and Argentine Ricardo Gonzalez took advantage of perfect scoring conditions to share the lead after the opening round of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

Both players carded seven under par rounds of 65 over the Centenary Course which will stage next year’s Ryder Cup to lead by one from in-form Australian Brett Rumford, Spin’s Ignacio Garrido, Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and English trio Oliver Fisher, Ross Fisher and Mark Foster.

Wiesberger, twice a winner on The European Tour last season, came into the event in good form having made 17 consecutive cuts this season and continued to shine with three straight birdies to finish.

“I didn't make a lot of mistakes,” said the 27 year old. “I had troubles the last couple weeks driving the ball, and coming off Major Championships where you have to be very precise off the tee, I felt I had a bit more margin of error here.

“My driving is better the last couple of days, which helped a lot, and I've got shorter clubs into the greens, and I could take advantage of those.

“I came here with the feeling that I like the golf course, I like the weather, playing in these colder conditions, I think it suits me. I’m very relaxed; had last week off, so quite fresh into this tournament and that helped me.

Gonzalez has four European Tour titles to his name but the last of those came back in 2009, and the 43 year old has not had a top ten finish this season.

The highlight of his round came with a ten foot eagle at the long second, seven birdies and two bogeys also on Gonzalez’ card.

“I played very good from the tee, made some good putts, and that's why it's a good score,” he said.

“I like the course. I think the weather opened my eyes and made me take more concentration on my putter and my driver.”

Oliver Fisher would have made it a three-way tie for the lead but for a bogey at his final hole, but it was still a fine return to form for a player who has not posted a top ten finish on The European Tour since claiming his maiden title in the Czech Republic two years ago.

Afterwards the 24 year old revealed he is drawing on the experience of playing recently with golf’s latest Major Champion at The Open Championship.

Jason Dufner carded a closing 67 at Muirfield three weeks before winning at Oak Hill, and Fisher hopes his 68 that day can have a similar affect on the rest of his season.

“I played with Jason the last round, I think he shoot four under and I shoot three, and there's not a lot between,” said Fisher. “He's just gone on to finish second at Bridgestone and won the PGA, and I sat at home watching it on telly. It doesn't take a lot, the difference in the game to completely change your year or change your career, if you like.

“I’ll just keep believing and being patient. I know the golf I can play and it's just a matter of getting out there and taking a bit of responsibility I guess.”

Italian Ryder Cup star Francesco Molinari opened with a three under 69, while defending champion Paul Lawrie birdied two of the last three holes to be a shot further back.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

NEWS FROM THE EUROPRO TOUR

Paul Maddy leads by one stroke ahead of the final round of the HotelPlanner.com Championship after the 2012 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour Order of Merit winner shot a five-under-par second-round 65 in the tour’s event at Dale Hill Golf Club, East Sussex.

Maddy (Gog Mgog) is seven under par after 36 holes of the 54-hole event, with James Webber and Ruaidhri McGee sharing second place on six under. Billy Downing (Truro) and Daniel Gavins (De Vere Oulton Hall) are two off the lead on five under, while six golfers are a further shot back.

Leader Maddy shot six birdies to sign for a 65, including three successive par breakers from 15 to end his round on a high. The Challenge Tour regular says his game is returning to its best after a slow start to the season, and hopes another EuroPro win can be the springboard to finish his season as well as he finished his second round at Dale Hill.

“I had been struggling in the first half of the season,” he admitted. “It took a while to get used to the travelling and my game wasn’t in the shape I wanted it to be.

“Over the last month or so I have been gradually getting it back, I feel more confident again and the results are showing.

“If I can play like I did with my long game in the first two rounds, and just maybe hole a few more putts then I will have a chance. I had a lot of chances for birdie in the second round and managed to take a few of them.

“It would be nice to play the par fives a bit better. I am one over for two rounds on the par fives, but they are reachable so I would like to improve on that in the final round.”

Webber (Three Rivers /Stock Brook) and McGee (Rosapenna) both shot 66 in their second-round on the par-70 Ian Woosnam Course and are just one behind Maddy with 18 to play.

A mixed back nine of an eagle, three birdies and three bogeys took Webber to four under for his round after earlier birdies on the first and sixth. McGee shot seven birdies as he amassed the same score, but bogeyed the second, third and 11^th.

A cut to the leading 50 players plus ties has now been made with all golfers whose 36-hole score is two over par or better proceeding to play Friday’s final round.

Entry to the event is free throughout the week, and Sky Sports HD will film the final round for a highlights programme to be shown during the week commencing September 2.

Following the conclusion of this week’s HotelPlanner.com Championship, the top six players on the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour Order of Merit will gain exemptions to the second stage of European Tour Q School (provided that they have already entered European Tour Qualifying School).

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

THREE SHARE LEAD AT HALFWAY IN ROLEX TROPHY CHALLENGE

NEWS RELEASE FROM EUROPEAN TOUR

COMMUNICATIONS

José-Filipe Lima continued his impressive run of form with a lowest-of the-day round of 65 to take a share of the lead at the midway stage of the Rolex Trophy.

The Portuguese is currently second in the Challenge Tour Rankings after a stunningly consistent campaign which has yielded six top tens, including a brace of runner-up finishes at the Norwegian Challenge and the Mugello Tuscany Open. 

With season’s earnings of €80,192 Lima has already guaranteed a return to The European Tour for 2014, but the 31 year old is determined to add to his tally of three Challenge Tour titles and has a golden chance of doing just that after moving to ten under par at Golf de Genève.

Earlier in the afternoon, Sweden’s Jens Dantorp and England’s Robert Dinwiddie both shot rounds of 67 for the second day in succession to lay down a marker which was met late in the day by Lima.

Lima said: “Apart from the stupid bogey on the last, I was very pleased with how I played again today. I’ve been playing very consistently all season, mainly because I practised so well over the winter. I also feel fitter and stronger than I have done for a long time, which has made a very big difference. I had a few back problems over the past couple of years, but now I feel great.  

 “My goal now is to try to win the Rankings, which would be a fantastic achievement so it is a really big ambition of mine. To do that I will need to win at least once, and my coach is really pushing me to win. Of course he’s happy with how I’ve been playing, but he’s not happy I haven’t win yet – so I need win to get him off my back! Hopefully it can happen this week, but if not there will hopefully be other opportunities later in the season.”   

Meanwhile, a change of attitude – and shoes – helped Dantorp rediscover his best form.

Dantorp admitted to feeling mentally fatigued at the Norwegian Challenge, a tournament he withdrew from after suffering severe blisters in his feet caused by a new pair of shoes.

But having spent last week playing for fun with friends back home in his native Sweden, Dantorp duly rediscovered his love for the game and came into the Rolex Trophy with focus renewed.

His restored belief was in evidence during an opening round of 67 at Golf de Genève, and whilst an errant driver meant he was only able to match, rather than better that effort on day two, Dantorp was understandably delighted with a ten under par total at the halfway stage of the elite €228,000 event.

He said: “I made a lot of birdies today, and would’ve made more if my driving was better. Most of my bogeys came about because I didn’t find the fairway, but I probably hit more good shots than I did yesterday, so I would’ve been disappointed if I hadn’t shot at least a 67.

“I’ve actually been hitting the ball quite well lately, but I’ve made far too many mental errors. I just haven’t been with it – I was going through the motions a little bit. Maybe I was getting too lazy and not really focusing properly, but after playing with some friends back home last week I really started to enjoy the game again, and that’s continued this week.

“The format this week has also helped me enjoy the tournament, because it’s nice to meet and play with other people. Of course there’s still a serious side, but it’s good to chat between shots and find out a little bit about your playing partners. They also played well today, so it was just a really fun day all round.”   

Dinwiddie’s campaign has been something of a curate’s egg, with five missed cuts cancelling out some impressive performances in the Czech Republic (tied second) and St Omer (fourth).

As is usually the case, the reason for Dinwiddie’s inconsistency has been an inability to hole his fair share of putts, but having switched back to a Scotty Cameron putter, the Englishman is hoping he has finally found the right formula on the greens.   

Dinwiddie, who won the Rolex Trophy in 2007, said: “I’m a little bit surprised I’m tied for the lead at the minute, because I thought someone would’ve gone much lower today. But I’m certainly not complaining, because I’ve been hitting the ball nicely. 

“It’s been an up and down season – the weeks I’ve done well have been the weeks I’ve putted well. It’s as simple as that really. I’ve changed putter this week, and have putted pretty well so far so it’ll be staying in the bag a bit longer. I’m starting the ball on line more often, and surprisingly enough it’s going in the hole more often!”

Overnight leader Daniel Gaunt endured a difficult start to his second round, making a triple bogey at the par third three third hole, but rallied impressively on the back nine to sign for a round of 72 and join Denmark’s Thomas Norret (69), Spain’s Adrian Otaegui and American Brinson Paolini (both 70) in a share of fourth place on nine under par. 

 SECOND ROUND TOTALS

Par 144 (2x72)

134 R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 67 67, J Lima  (Por) 69 65, J Dantorp (Swe) 67 67,

 135 D Gaunt (Aus) 63 72, B Paolini (USA) 65 70, T Nørret (Den) 66 69, A Otaegui  (Esp) 65 70,

 136 J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 69 67, V Riu  (Fra) 66 70, J McLeary  (Sco) 67 69, L Kennedy  (Eng) 68 68,

 137 A Domingo (Esp) 65 72,

 138 A Pavan (Ita) 70 68, T Sluiter  (Ned) 69 69, D Ulrich (Sui) 69 69, S Kim (Kor) 69 69,

 139 J Guerrier  (Fra) 69 70, B An (Kor) 69 70, A McArthur  (Sco) 67 72, F Calmels  (Fra) 68 71, J Elson  (Eng) 68 71,

 140 D Huizing (Ned) 74 66, B Ritthammer (Ger) 70 70, J Carlsson (Swe) 72 68, K Borsheim  (Nor) 68 72, P Edberg (Swe) 71 69, S Manley (Wal) 73 67, J Huldahl (Den) 68 72, W Besseling  (Ned) 70 70, J Fahrbring (Swe) 70 70,

 141 C Brazillier  (Fra) 68 73,

 142 E Dubois (Fra) 72 70, D Im (USA) 70 72, M Crespi  (Ita) 70 72

143 P Archer (Eng) 72 71, R Davies (Wal) 70 73,

145 S Walker (Eng) 72 73, R Kakko  (Fin) 72 73, A Gee  (Eng) 75 70,

 146 S Kapur (Ind) 73 73,

 147 S Tiley (Eng) 71 76,

 151 D Frittelli (RSA) 76 75,

 

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

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FIRST MIDLAND ALLIANCE OF NEW SEASON PRIZEWINNERS

The first meeting of Midland Golfers Alliance 2013-14 season was held at Muckhart Golf Club in Clackmannanshire. 

Best scratch score of the day was a superb, five-under-par 66 by Pitreavie professional Paul Brookes

The leading handicap prize was won by Mike Niven, who plays off seven at Alloa. He returned a net score of 65. 

LEADING SCRATCH

Par 71 

66 P Brookes (Pitreavie) p

68 S McKendrick (Dunkeld).

70 A J Webster (Edzell) 

72 M Niven (Alloa)

73 S Craig (Germany) p, D Snodgrass (Crail) ap.

74 J Watt (Edzell), J Black (Scotscraig) 

LEADING HANDICAP

65 M Niven (Alloa) (7).

67 C Westland (Alloa) (11)

68 S McKendrick (Dunkeld) (scr).

69 H Salmond (Tulliallan) (7) 

70 A McLeod (Alloa) (6), J Leddy (Bathgate) (11), J Burns

(Muckhart) (11)

71 J Watt (Edzell) (3), R Brownhill (Edzell) (6) J Black (Scotscraig) (3).

Qualifiers for the JTC Kitchen Express Midland Alliance Championship in April at Monifieth Links 

P Brookes, S McKendrick, A J Webster P

Qualifiers for JTC Kitchen Express McQueen Shield at Monifieth Links in April 

M Niven

Next week's meeting

 J B Motors Team Competition

Tuesday, August 27

 Venue: Blairgowrie (8.30 – 12.30)

Lee Sutherland